Speaking of $300 OLPC killers, the SF Chronicle's reporting that the $299 Asus Eee PC 2G Surf has officially launched. It has half the storage space and RAM of the 4G models, plus it's soldered on, so noodling around's dicier. The Fresno school system's already handing out 1,000 of 'em loaded up with Windows and Microsoft programs (!) to students; they picked the Eees 'cause they're tiny and cheap. And, it's an actual OLPC snub.

Unlike the mildly unfair outmatched spec showdown—to be fair, it lost on interface and ease-of-use points too—this is an arena where they're in direct competition, since Negroponte has been pushing them to school systems in the states to make up for lackluster sales abroad. Then again, Alabama is more like a Third World country. Also!

The beefier Eee PC 8G model, which had been priced and dated for this month has landed in Newegg's stock shelves, ready for their elves to ship 'em out to you for $500. The extra $100 nets you double storage and memory, in case you didn't want to join the army of modders adding all kinds of crazy shit to it like Cartman's trapper keeper. [SF Gate, Newegg]